Union Warns of 'Backdoor Privatisation' as German Autobahn Agency Seeks Private Loans

Verdi union warns of backdoor privatization as Autobahn GmbH seeks private loans without state guarantees, amid staffing shortages and bridge closures spotlighting infrastructure decay.

A plan to let Germany's Autobahn GmbH borrow directly from private capital markets – without government backing – has triggered sharp criticism from the Verdi trade union. Christine Behle, the union's deputy chair, described the move as "privatisation by the back door" and warned that it would push up financing costs and lead to cuts in staff, materials and infrastructure quality.

Under the reform, details of which emerged in early June, the state-owned motorway company would be allowed to take out private loans free of state guarantees. Behle insists that the entire 13,000-kilometre Autobahn network should be funded directly from the federal budget. Only that, she argues, guarantees long-term safety and performance.

The debate is unfolding against a backdrop of severe staffing shortages at Autobahn GmbH. According to Verdi, roughly 1,000 positions are currently unfilled. Shifting to private lenders, the union fears, would intensify pressure to contain personnel costs, making it even harder to attract skilled workers.

The Association of German Engineering Associations (ZBI) has also urged caution. While it welcomes the planned reduction in bureaucracy, it warns against lowering technical standards or scaling back safety checks. "Modern infrastructure needs faster procedures – but not at the expense of quality and safety," the ZBI said.

A stark illustration of the country's infrastructure backlog came on June 3, when the Bonner Nordbrücke (A565) was completely closed to traffic. Structural damage and insufficient load reserves forced the shut-down of the bridge, which carries more than 100,000 vehicles daily. Since the start of the year, it had already been closed to vehicles over 7.5 tonnes. New static analyses now made a full closure unavoidable.

The incident has fuelled a political row. Federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) defended the government's renovation targets, but the Greens criticised an excessive focus on new construction. Only 2.5 billion euros per year from the special infrastructure fund is earmarked for refurbishments – a fraction of what is needed given the thousands of dilapidated bridges. Germany's Federal Court of Auditors has already labelled the target of completing all necessary renovations by 2030 as unrealistic.

There is at least some encouraging news from Bremen. The renovation of the A1 Weserbrücke remains on schedule, despite the discovery of additional chloride damage and corrosion. Completion is due by the end of 2027. The Autobahn GmbH also managed to avoid a planned tightening of traffic routing that had been set for autumn; lane widths for the roughly 130,000 daily vehicles will stay unchanged. A complete replacement of the bridge is planned for the 2030s.